The Hotel
by futureauthor13
Summary: A Wander Over Yonder multichapter story. Our two favorite travelers find a hotel and decide to take a break from camping outside. But can Wander, someone who enjoys the wonders of nature and sleeping under the stars, enjoy these new accommodations? Or, will he just have to liven things up in his own unique way? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

Every time Wander had thought he had seen the prettiest planet in the universe, the universe always seemed to prove him wrong.

This particular planet - whose name was Purlet - just happened to have a blue sun shining down on it, casting a calming blue hue onto everything. Not to mention that Purlet also had one of the biggest collections of flora in this part of the galaxy. It took everything the travel had to not jump off his friends back and run through a nearby field of flowers... again.

*Snap!* Although, nothing could stop him from taking pictures.

"Isn't this place just_ beautiful_, Sylvia?" Wander asked, looking down at the spornak.

"Well, a bit too flower-y for my tastes," Sylvia commented, "but yeah, I guess it is sorta pretty." She held back a groan. "Although, I think I would be able to enjoy it more if my feet didn't feel like lead."

Knowing what his friend was hinting at, Wander quickly jumped off. "Well then, why don't you stay here, and I'll go find us a place to set up camp for the night!" Not giving Sylvia a chance to argue, Wander then quickly jogged ahead, further into the blue tinted forest.

Sylvia, sighing in relief, stood up on her hind legs and let herself fall against a tree. It was about time they stopped. Travelling with Wander was fun, but sometimes she practically had to force him to unpack, promising that they would see plenty of things after they got some shut eye.

After taking a long drink from her personal canteen, Sylvia decided to let her eyes close for just a moment...

"Sylvia!"

Jolting up in surprise and accidentally squeezing out half of the water from the canteen on herself, Sylvia looked around. "Wander?"

"Sylvia!" The shout was a lot more frantic that time.

Scowling, Sylvia stood up and ran towards her travelling partner. If someone thought they could hurt her friend and get away with it, they had another thing coming!

The spornak made it to Wander in record time, ready to fend off an attacker or even punch a few dozen of Lord Hater's watchdogs in the face. But when she looked around, she only saw Wander - complete unharmed - grinning at something.

Annoyed now, Sylvia dropped her defenses. Obviously Wander didn't notice. "Oh good, you're here! Sylvia, you gotta see-

"What you made me run all the way over here for," Sylvia finished, "Fine, whatever, what is it Wander?"

"That!" Looking into the clearing, Sylvia was almost surprised she didn't see it earlier. It was a tall, dark purple building, with several small balconies and towers towards the top of it. Small lights from the windows were scattered along the building, letting them know that plenty of people were staying there, and there was a small garden planet along the walls. A shiny, black fence surrounded the building with a gate already opened, inviting people inside. If there had been a few more buildings, Sylvia would've thought it was a castle.

"Whatda'ya suppose it is?" Wander asked after taking a quick picture, "I mean, besides amazing."

"Hmm," Sylvia said, thinking for a moment, "I think it's supposed to be a hotel."

"A hotel?" Wander repeated. That was a bit surprising. The hotels on their home planet were nothing more than big huts or cabins for travelers to stay in, or for people who just wanted some time away from home and wanted to meet new people. People would play games, sing songs, and have a pot luck dinner. Then at night they would all sleep by an open fireplace, which would keep everyone warm and toasty even on the coldest of nights.

"Yeah, one of those really fancy smancy hotels," Sylvia continued, "where they have all the things you need and a pool and mints on your pillows... actually, that doesn't sound half bad."

"Yeah, I guess it would be pretty fun to stay in a hotel," Wander agreed, grinning. There was a beat of silence. "Well, let's keep looking for a place to sleep! I think I saw a good spot over by the river."

The traveler took a step forward, but was promptly dragged back. "Wait Wander," Sylvia said as she gestured to the hotel, "Why don't we just stay at the hotel? I mean, it is right there after all."

Even as naïve as Wander could be, he could see that his friend really wanted to spend the night in the tall, inviting building. 'And I guess I'm a bit curious myself,' Wander thought. A grin crossed his face.

"Well then, what are we waitin' for?!"

Sylvia grinned back at him. "That's the spirit!" Grabbing their bags, the two friends ran towards the front gate, eager to see what awaited them inside.

**So, that's the first chapter. This isn't the first Wander over Yonder fic I've written, but this is the first one I've published on this site. It's an interesting show, and while the first episode didn't grab me, the fandom did kinda pull me in. I guess with a different planet each episode, there's a lot of potential. And while I don't consider it laugh out loud funny, it is entertaining and very cute. **

**Anyway, please review and hopefully I'll update this soon. Have a nice day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Special shoutout to the anonymous person who reviewed the first chapter, thank you so much! Anyway, onto chapter 2!**

It was a nice change of pace to the two travelers-but-sometimes-fugitives when they saw that there was no tight security around the hotel. No having to make up fake names or sneak around, anyone - including 'enemies' of Lord Hater - were welcomed.

Camera at the ready, Wander's eyes widened as he walked through the doors and into the huge hotel lobby. To match the tone of the planet, the opening room to the building was painted a beautiful violet with blue trimming. The furniture - which looked like the softest chairs and couches Wander had ever seen! - were made of dark blue fabric and sturdy, purple wood, most likely taken from the planet's own trees. As for the coffee tables and front desk, the tops were made of glass while the bases and legs were made of silver. Also made of silver were small vases that housed some of Purlet's most beautiful flowers. Finally, to tie the whole room together, was a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, with small sapphires dangling down from it.

And, out of all these magnificent things in the room, what had caught Wander's attention?

"My my, Sylvia! Have you ever seen a floor this shiny?" Crouching down, Wander found himself staring at the shiny floor. Being able to actually see himself in it, he quickly fixed a few strands of fur that were out of place, and then grinned at his reflection. Of course, Sylvia was busy looking at all the other attributes of the room to care about the floor.

"Ahem, uh Sir?" Both of them looked across the room at the front desk. There stood a tall man, looking a bit curious but mostly annoyed.

"Why of course you can!" Wander replied suddenly as he quickly walked up to the desk. Closer now, he was able to actually look at the man. Since he hadn't visited Purlet before - and therefore had never seen the planet's people - he took in every detail of the alien as if he were the most interesting thing in the world.

The man was similar to Wander - two arms, two legs, two eyes, no nose, etc - but his body was at least three feet taller. His body, while definitely lean, also took on a sort of hourglass shape, with big broad shoulders that would be great to have if he played football. There was a small tuff of neatly combed black hair sitting on top of his oval-shaped head. His skin was purple colored, and he did have a thin mustache. As for his uniform, it was a simple (at least for him) black suit with a sapphire-blue bowtie.

After only a couple seconds (thankfully), Wander realized that he was staring and quickly extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, friend!" he greeted.

The man blinked in surprise before extending his own hand. "Good afternoon," he said simply, "now, would you two like to stay here tonight?"

"Yessiree!" "You got it!" The man - most likely the hotel's manager or at least someone high up in staff - looked over his two 'guests'. They certainly seemed strange, but at least they were friendly.

"Very well." The manager took out a book, able to see which rooms were free and which weren't. "Would you like to see our prices?"

"Nah, it's fine." Wander quickly took off his hat and produced a small bag. Dumping part of it out on the desk, Wander presented the manager with several gold, silver, bronze, and even a few coins that could only be found on specific planets but easily exchangeable for universe-wide currency. To say the Purlet was shocked would be a definite understatement.

"I don't really have much use for it myself," Wander shrugged, "but my mama always says:" He raised his voice in a higher pitch, and stood like a mother would, pointing his finger at his imaginary son. "'Wander, only a fool travels around without money'." He quickly reverted back to his normal voice and stance. "Uh, will this be enough for a couple nights?"

"More than enough!" the manager exclaimed before calming himself down. He still couldn't believe a star nomad of all people would have all this money! How long had he been saving it up exactly? Reminding himself he had a job to do, the manager looked away from the array of coins and back at the travelers.

"Now, I'm afraid your spornak will have to stay at the stables behind the hotel-"

"WHAT!" The manager shrunk down - although he still towered over them - as Sylvia banged her fist on the front desk. "What, you think just because I walk on four legs sometimes and have a saddle means I don't have the right to stay here like everyone else, you stuffed-shirt, stuck up little-!"

"Sylvia!" Wander quickly hopped up on the desk in front of the manager, thinking the blocking her view of the man would calm her down a bit. It didn't, but at least she wasn't willing to get violent with Wander in the way. Still standing between the two, Wander turned to face the manager.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but if my friend can't stay inside the hotel, then neither will I." He was about to pick up his coins and leave when he was stopped.

"A-are you sure you don't want to at least look at the stables, I assure you they're very nice," the manager added.

Wander turned around again. "Well, what do you think, Sylv?"

Sylvia blew a sigh through her nostrils. "Fine, we can go look," she said, "but don't expect me to sleep in some over cramped barn with hay stuck to my feet."

"Of course not!" Wander said with a smile as he hopped down from the desk. Feeling relieved, the manager walked out from behind the desk, making sure to stay a good distance away from the spornak. "F-follow me please."

Going down a hall and outside, the two travelers were led passed the outdoors pool and towards a relatively smaller but still nice looking building. "Well, it seems nice," Wander commented.

"Ha, I wouldn't hold my breath," Sylvia mumbled. Rushing ahead, the Purlet opened the doors, and gestured inside. "I hope we exceed your expectations, M-Ma'am," he added. As soon as she walked inside, Sylvia felt her jaw drop.

"_This_ is what you people consider a stable?!"

'This' was a gymnasium sized blue painted room filled with plenty of four legged creatures (and some with six or eight legs) of varying size and species. There were some that Sylvia knew also had the ability to talk like she did, but most of the stable residents didn't. However that didn't mean they weren't treated like guests.

In the corner were a few workers who were grooming the animals and giving their hoofs/feet (depending on the animal) pedicures. Over on the far side of the room was a place for entertainment - various games, entertainment devices and a tv - and next to it was a table, which was already being filled with high quality food. A ramp led upstairs were there was plenty of space and tons of blankets and mattresses for every animal.

"Sooooooo?" Wander asked after waiting a few moments.

Sylvia hid her pleased smile. "It's okay," she answered, "I guess we can stay here for a night or two..." Just then, one of the workers finished up on her guest's pedicure, opening up a spot. Even she could appreciate a good foot rub and pedicure. "And I think that pedi's calling my name!" As she stormed through the room, wanting to make sure no one reached the empty spot before she did, she shouted over her shoulder, "Have fun, Wander!"

"You too!" Wander shouted back, happy to see that his friend was satisfied.

"Well, Mr. Wander." The orange creature looked up at the Purlet, who had a small, friendly smile on his face. "Shall we get you checked in?"

"Hold on a second!" Retrieving his camera, Wander lifted himself up using the manager's shoulder. He held the camera in front of them, getting the timer ready. "Say cheese!" Chuckling, the manager smiled a bit bigger and after a couple seconds, the camera snapped its picture.

Hopping down onto the ground, Wander looked at the photo. "That one's a keeper!" With that, Wander happily followed the tall manager back to the hotel.

**So, there's chapter two! The next chapter is when Wander's hotel adventure really starts, plus we'll meet a few more faces. Anyway, please review and have a nice day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all so much for the kind reviews/favorites/alerts! It means so much to me, you guys are great! Also, someone informed me that it's 'zbornak', not 'spornak', so thanks for that. Alright, onto the next chapter!**

"Alright, looks like you'll be in room 1052, a very nice room." The manager slid a small keycard over to Wander.

"Ooh, fancy," he commented, looking the card over.

On the far side of the lobby, the elevator doors opened and a young lady walked out pushing a small gurney that one could use to take luggage up to a room.

Before she could tell her boss (or rather, boss for right now) that she was ready for her next job, the little orange traveler had nearly bounded over to her. "Hello there!" he greeted, "You must work here too!"

"Um, yes I do," she replied, giving him a slightly nervous smile. Judging by her uniform - a short sleeved collared tee shirt and a medium length skirt, both in black - that she was a maid who did other odd jobs around the hotel. Like the hotel manager, she was tall with an hourglass figure. Instead of black hair however, hers was dark blue and tied in a bun with a slight cowlick. "My name is Adelpha."

"Well, it's certainly nice to meet you, Ma'am," Wander said as he tipped his hat and stuck out his hand, "Most folks call me Wander."

Adelpha giggled slightly. "Pleasure's all mine, Wander," she replied, shaking hands with her friendly guest.

"Adelpha, why don't you help take his bag up?" the manager asked. As soon as he did though, Wander quickly scooped up his green bag.

"No need, I can just carry it myself!" he said, not wanting Adelpha to do more work than she needed to. He thought for a moment. "But I could use someone to show me where my room is because this place is _huge_!"

The maid smiled. "Of course." She looked up. "Keane - I mean,_ Sir_ - anything else I need to do?"

"Not right now, I'm afraid," the manager - or Keane, apparently - replied, giving her a sort of sad smile as he did. Adelpha nodded, and led Wander over to the elevators.

Ten floors later, the two found themselves in the middle of a long, dark blue painted hallway with purple and white stripes along the walls. "Now, we do have a noise rule so the other guests aren't disturbed." Although, if she was being completely honest, there weren't too many guests to disturb.

"No problem!" Wander replied, using half the volume but just as much enthusiasm as how he normally talked, "I'll be as quiet as a space mouse!"

"Alright. Well, here's your room." Wander stopped in front of a black door with a shiny silver plaque on it that read 1052. "Well, it looks good so far," he commented.

Smiling, Adelpha wished him a good night's stay and said farewell. After saying goodbye, Wander immediately turned his attention to the room. He was so excited that it took him three times to get the door open, trying to time sliding the card and turning the knob just right.

The dark colors faded away as the room turned out to be painted a robin's egg blue with grey carpet. Inside the room was a couch and chair with a coffee table between them, a small kitchenette, a bathroom with a tub so big that Wander thought he should consider wearing his scuba mask when he took his bath, and finally a master bedroom complete with a king sized bed and a small door that led to a balcony.

"It sure is nice," Wander said to himself as he took pictures of the room, "Although, it is kinda big for just me." Suddenly, the room felt a lot bigger, and a bit lonelier.

Shaking these thoughts away, Wander smiled to himself. "I'm sure I just haven't gotten used to it, that's all!" After all, it was a great room, and he was going to enjoy it.

At that moment, there was a slight rumbling in his stomach. "Well, guess I better fill up the tank! But first..."

Digging into his bag, Wander pulled out a small Tupperware container that had been placed in liquid nitrogen (for freshness). "Nothin' says dinner like homemade casserole!" Wander knew the hotel most likely didn't have potluck meals like the hotels on his planet, but that didn't mean he still couldn't share.

A quick two and a half minutes in the microwave, and it was ready to go! It took another three minutes or so for the elevator ride downstairs and for him to find the dining room.

Unlike the rest of the hotel, this room wasn't smothered in blues and purples. Instead, it was painted black with white lights and candles scattered along the walls and sitting on the tables. The floor was a pretty grey color, and the tables varied between white and black tablecloths, with blue plates and a small collection of silverware. With such a big dining room though, there was only about half a dozen tables with people sitting at them, the rest were completely empty. 'Huh, well that sure is strange,' Wander thought.

"Hello again," a familiar voice greeted. Turning around, a huge grin appeared on Wander's face.

"Well hey there, Adelpha," he replied, "Are you here for dinner too?"

The Purlet woman shook her head. "Just taking a break," she told him. When Adelpha noticed the steaming container, she looked at him, a bit confused.

"Oh, I just thought I'd share a bit with everyone," Wander explained, taking the lid off the delicious smelling casserole.

"That's sweet of you," Adelpha said, taking a small whiff of the food, "but I'm afraid we only have the buffet set up for breakfast and lunch. I can put that in the kitchen if you'd like and you can pick it up before you leave tomorrow."

Wander was a bit disappointed, but continued smiling nonetheless. "Thanks," he said, handing the dish to her.

"Go ahead and sit down," she told him, "a waiter should see you shortly." Wander tipped his hat, and then went to go sit at a small two person table. Looking over the menu, he decided on the salad with spinach and almonds and the potato wedges with sour cream. It wasn't a lot, but then again, Wander was a pretty small guy so it didn't really matter to him.

Thanks to the quick service of the waitstaff, Wander quickly found himself with nothing to do but wait. It had been so long since he had eaten by himself, with not even Sylvia to talk to. He supposed he could have danced to the light piano music playing in the background or maybe even play along with it, but his banjo was up in his room and there wasn't much room to dance.

Lightly sighing, Wander decided to just look around at all his fellow diners. There were three businessmen - all at different tables - a couple families of three or four, and a couple... couples, probably there on a vacation or a second honeymoon. One couple though, Wander recognized immediately and couldn't help but walk over and say hello.

"Hey guys!" The two small creatures turned, and quickly smiled. "Our hero!" they said in unison. Quickly, they hopped up and kissed Wander thrice on the cheek.

"How have you guys been?" Wander asked the two bingleborps, "How's the planet?"

"Great since you stopped Lord Hater from taking over!" said the purple bingleborp.

"We're here on a small vacation," the pink bingleborp began to explain, "We wanted to see the famous Purlet gardens, it took as a whole year to save up the money to come here."

"Well congrats guys!" Wander grinned, "Hope you guys have a fun time!"

"We will!" the high pitched pair said in unison as Wander walked away. 'It's always nice to see old friends again,' he thought. As he passed another table - a small family of four Gemheads, creatures who had gems in the middle of their foreheads with peddle-like things on the sides of their heads and they always wore long green robes. The youngest Gemhead, who was sitting in a highchair dropped a spoon, just in time for Wander to see it and quickly pick it up.

"Here ya go, little guy," Wander said, handing it back to the toddler. He babbled a thank you and continued sucking on the spoon. "So, how are you folks doing?"

The other Gemhead child, a little girl, smiled at him. Her parents however weren't smiling. They had seen him on wanted posters on their planet, distributed by none other than Lord Hater's Watchdogs. Even if he did seem friendly, they didn't want to be seen with him by a passing Watchdog and get arrested during their family vacation.

"We're fine," replied the mother, "but, uh, I think your food will be coming soon. You'd better go sit back at your table."

"Guess you're right," Wander said, not noticing their nervousness, "Enjoy your meal!" With that, he left the family alone, much to the mother and father's relief.

Sure enough, when he sat back down, a waiter arrived with Wander's food. Even if he did wish he had someone to share it with and someone to have a conversation with in between bites, he couldn't deny that the food was fantastic.

After the short dinner, Wander headed back up to his room. He thought about stopping by the stables to wish Sylvia a goodnight, but he didn't want to disturb her if she was in the middle of eating or doing something. So, he decided to have a nice hot bath instead.

When most of your baths on the road consist of cold rivers and lakes, a hot bath was like a little piece of heaven to the Star Nomad. It was nearly an hour before he got out of the tub, enjoying the hot water for all that it was worth.

Once his fur was all dry and fluffy, he couldn't really think of anything else to do. "Guess I should hit the hay," Wander told himself, "After all, if I get up early, maybe I can get breakfast and then Sylvia and I can do some sightseeing!" Anxious to get back to what he loved the most, Wander jumped into bed, and went to sleep.

... Or at least tried to.

For whatever reason, Wander just couldn't get comfortable. The bed was soft but stiff at the same time. The pillows were too big and fluffy, and it just didn't feel right. He tried every single position he could think of, even hanging upside down off the bed, but nothing worked. He also tried no pillows, no blankets, only one of the blankets, rolling up in the blankets like a burrito (he nearly rolled off the bed) and even tried making a little pillow fort. Every attempt to sleep resulted in his eyes closing for just a couple minutes before opening again.

Yawning, Wander glanced at the digital clock. The numbers read 10:05 PM. "I just gotta get some shut eye," he told himself, feeling even more exhausted now. As he glanced over at the balcony door, he suddenly got an idea.

()()()()()()()

Normally the job of a maid would be a tiring one, but really, Adelpha had no complaints. It was easy enough, and she was usually done with her housekeeping duties by 11. If anything, she almost wished she was busier.

Opening the door, Adelpha looked around and was surprised. Not a speck of dirt or dust anywhere. There weren't even any dishes in the sink. Moving onto the master bedroom, she was met with an already made bed and absolutely nothing to tidy up.

"How strange," she said to herself, "Did he even stay here last night?"

Just then, she heard a door open. "Good morning!" Quickly turning around, she saw Wander walk inside with a smile on his face and a small green pillow and a bag in his arms.

"Uh, good morning," Adelpha replied, "Did you, sleep on the balcony?"

"Yep!" Wander answered as if it were the most normal thing in the universe, "Guess I'm just too used to sleeping under the stars." He then noticed the cleaning supplies she was carrying. "Do you want some help cleaning up in here?"

The maid smiled. "That's fine, I think I'll manage," she replied, "Why don't you head down to breakfast?"

Breakfast _did_ sound good. So, after quickly brushing his fur and teeth, Wander said goodbye and headed downstairs, ready for the start of a new day.

**Alright, hope this wasn't too boring. I promise, the plot will get going in the next chapter, I just had to use this one to kind of set it up. Also, most of you probably know this but the Bingleborps are from the episode 'The Greatest'. The Gemheads are a real WOY species too, but technically he hasn't met them yet (which works in favor for my story). In the opening though, it's the 8th alien you see, around 0:19 (it during the dancing part so it goes by pretty fast). Also, I totally just made up the name.**

**Anyway, I'm done with midterms so chapter 4 should be up pretty soon. Please review, and I hope you all have a nice day! **


	4. Chapter 4

Being a natural explorer, Wander found himself taking the stairs at the end of the hallway rather than the elevator in the middle. It would take longer, but he would see more of the hotel that way. Although, most of the hallways were just rows of black doors with the occasional reading room or lounge, but Wander didn't really mind.

Reaching the ground floor after several minutes, Wander simply started to make his way up the hallway and towards the dining room with a pleasant smile on his face. Had he passed a certain slightly opened door a minute sooner, he might not have noticed it at all.

"How are the books for this month, Keane?"

"Well Mr. Gorman, our flow of customers has remained relatively steady, and our reviews are... mostly positive."

Stopping, Wander glanced back at the door. He knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but at the same time, judging by the tone of his voice it sounded like there was trouble going on at the hotel. It also sounded like Keane and whoever he was talking to was right in the middle of it.

Taking a couple steps backwards, Wander peeked through the small opening.

The room was dark since the shades were pulled down over the windows, but thanks to a small desk lamp, Wander could still make out the two figures.

Keane and some other Purlet man - Mr. Gorman he presumed - were standing next to a desk with papers spread all over the top of it. The man was Wander's size instead of being extremely tall like Keane and Adelpha and nowhere near as lean as they were, which caused his biological hourglass shape to make him look more like a snowman. His hair was also more silver than black, so he must have been quite older than his manager was.

"What do you mean by 'mostly'?" Gorman asked.

"Well Sir, they're not really complaining about anything, they just give the hotel average scores and reviews. But Sir-"

"Enough with the 'sir', alright?" the man snapped, sounding frustrated.

Keane gave him a sad look. "Dad, Sis and I are trying our best."

There was a small sigh as Gorman sat down at his desk. "I know, son. I know. I just don't understand what_ is_ the problem. I mean, Purlet gets plenty of tourists even with the threat of Lord Hater. Our hotel is located right in the middle of a beautiful forest with the fanciest furniture, food, architecture - fanciest _everything_ - this side of the galaxy! And yet, even with half our staff cut to just six workers, we're still losing money!"

"It's just a slow year, I'm sure," Keane mumbled, trying to sound positive but getting nowhere near it.

"Hmmp," said his father, "Alright then. Why, why don't you go on and get back to the front desk?" "Yes, Father."

Frowning to himself, Wander quickly walked away from the door. 'Wow,' he thought to himself, 'Sounds like they're really in a pickle.' It even sounded like they would have to shut down the hotel entirely if things didn't change. 'If only there were more people staying here.' He thought back to the afternoon they had arrived at the hotel and all the lights he had seen scattered atop the building, which at the time had seemed like a lot. When there's only twenty rooms filled in a hotel with over a thousand rooms, even he knew that was a problem.

Suddenly it clicked. "Duh!" Wander shouted, his smile returning, "I'll just get more people to come here!" The only problem was just _how_ he would accomplish that. Luckily, when it came to helping people, Wander was a quick thinker. By the time he arrived at the dining room, his plan was nearly completely thought out.

"Hey, Wander!" said a very familiar voice that immediately caught Wander's attention.

"Sylvia!" Wander quickly ran over and gave his friend a big hug - which she gladly returned. "What are you doin' here?" he asked, "I figured you would'a had breakfast at the stables, what with that tasty buffet."

"Eh, I'd rather eat with my best friend," Sylvia replied, making Wander smile even bigger.

"I'm actually really glad you're here - I mean, even more glad than I would've been," Wander started to say, "Cause I need to talk to you about something impor - oh my gosh they've got a WAFFLE BAR!"

Sure enough, alongside the long table where various breakfast foods were laid out was a counter with not only several waffle irons and a machine that distributed the waffle batter, but whipped cream, butter, peanut butter, syrup, strawberry and sprinkle stations as well. Squeeing happily, Wander rushed over to the waffle bar leaving little more than a trail of dust behind. Sylvia simply shook her head. Being not much of a waffle person, the zbornak decided to just grab some fruit and sit down at an open table.

A few minutes later, Wander finally returned carrying a stack of waffles as big as his hat complete with all the toppings. Sylvia stared for a moment, wondering how he was even able to carry all that to the table. "D'you want any?" Wander asked.

"I'm good. Now, what was this important thing you wanted to tell me about?

"Right," Wander nodded, pushing the waffles aside for the moment. He then went on to explain what he had heard in the office and how much the hotel was in trouble moneywise.

"Well, I ca understand why this place is going down the toilet," Sylvia commented, "I mean, yeah it's really nice and fancy, but once you get passed the excitement of it all, this place is pretty much a bore - even with the great foot massages. Honestly, we would've been better off just camping or finding a cheap motel in the town a couple miles away."

Wander nodded. A lot of other people probably thought that way about the hotel too. "Buh we haffa-" He quickly swallowed. "Pardon. But we have to try and help them out, otherwise Keane and Adelpha and their dad will lose their family business! It wouldn't be right for a place like this to have to close up shop."

"It would be a pretty big waste," Sylvia agreed, "What we need are ways to get people in here, things that will make them want to spend the fortune to stay here besides the fancy smancy stuff." She smirked. "I suppose you already have a plan?"

"Maybe," Wander replied with a smile of his own before taking another big bite of his breakfast.


	5. Chapter 5

Sitting down on the chair behind his desk, Keane let out a small sigh. The only things he had really done this morning was have a less-than-successful meeting with his boss/father. There were no reservations set up for today, and he was certain that a few - if not most of their guests - would be checking out today.

Staring into space, the Purlet couldn't help but think back to several years ago when their father first came to him and his then teenage sister with his idea. He had already saved up the money and taken out the loans, with a contractor already working on the blueprints for the building. He had seemed so excited, certain that their hotel would be a success. "You'll two will have to help out now and again," his father had told them, "But I promise it'll all be worth it." He didn't need to promise. After hearing about having their own hotel and seeing how excited their dad was, it made Keane and Adelpha excited as well. Even the fact that they would have to take part time jobs at the hotel didn't damper their spirits.

It was only a couple years ago when the hotel was finally finished. Everything from the inside of the rooms to the shiny bars of the outside fence just looked perfect. They had gotten a lot of customers that day too. Since it was the newest thing on the planet, everyone either on or near Purlet had to go check it out. Being on a tourist planet helped too, and for the first month or so, it looked like their father was one hundred percent right about how successful the business was.

Unfortunately, as the months went on, customer numbers began to decline. By the end of six months, they were getting nearly half the customers they saw on opening day. There was a small spike around the holidays, but the numbers went right back to declining afterwards.

Keane supposed they should count themselves lucky. At least they were still getting customers, even if it was only about a dozen each month compared to the hundreds they used to get. However, with all the bills piling up and most of the employees gone, would that small number even matter in the next couple months?

"Excuse me? ... Um, excuse me!"

Keane blinked and quickly stood up. There was a flash of excitement, but when he saw who it was, it quickly faded.

"Hi!" Wander greeted, obviously not noticing the disappointment in the man's face.

"Good morning Mr. Wander, Ms. Sylvia," Keane nodded, "I take it you'll be checking out?"

"Later, but not right now," Wander answered. Keane blinked.

"Oh, well then - not to be rude but - why are you here?"

"Because... We're gonna help save your hotel!" Wander said, spreading his arms out in a grand gesture.

Keane's eyes widened. "What? But, I - How do you even know that we're in trouble?"

Wander lowered his arms and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well uh, you see, I sorta heard you and your dad talkin'... Sorry 'bout that."

"To be fair, it would be pretty easy to figure out even if he hadn't heard you two," Sylvia bluntly added, "This place is kind of a ghost town."

Keane sighed. "Can't argue with that. But how exactly are you going to help? Do you even know anything about running a hotel?"

"Well, not a lot," Wander admitted, "But I do have some ideas that could get more people wanting to stay here, and I ran them by Sylvia. She's smart so if they weren't good ideas, she would know." Sylvia smiled a little at that. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is: It's up to you and your family of course, but I would hate it if we didn't at least try to help you guys out."

Keane looked down at Wander. This man - one he barely knew for twenty-four hours - was offering advice and ideas on how to save their hotel. He didn't have any experience, he was just some traveler. But at the same time, his motives and will to help seemed true, and he was probably the most positive person Keane had ever seen.

The young Purlet man would be lying if he didn't still have his doubts about Wander and his plan. At the same time, he couldn't help but imagine seeing the hotel being once again how it was when it first opened. The lobby and dining room full of excited people with nearly every single room either filled up or reserved, and his father with a smile on his face for the first time in months.

For that vision to become a reality, Keane would try anything, no matter how absurd it would seem.

Even taking advice from a furry little nomad with a big green hat.

"Well," Keane started to say with a smile, "What have we got to lose?"

Smiling widely, Wander let out a cheer while jumping up on the desk and hugging the manager. "Alright, I already wrote down a list of things we need. Everything else I have planned out and - oh! We'll need Adelpha too!" Wander then practically dragged Keane out from behind the front desk and towards the elevator.

"Slow down a bit, Wander," Sylvia told him, although she couldn't help but chuckle.

"Um, is he always this excited when helping people?" Keane asked.

"Oh yeah," the zbornak replied, "All the time, but I'll make sure he doesn't forget to tell you the plan. And don't worry, things tend to have a way of working out for us, no matter how unlikely it may be."

Even if that did make Keane feel a bit better about everything, he still couldn't help but wonder what he had just agreed to.

()()()()()()()

"Well, here we are." Using her master key set, Adelpha opened the door that was practically hidden in the far corner of the kitchen. Peeking inside, they could only see darkness before a small light flickered on, revealing a small staircase and many spider webs.

"Glorn almighty," Sylvia asked, as Wander decided to go down first, "When's the last time you people cleaned this place?"

"Never probably," Adelpha replied, "It is just for storage after all."

"I doubt we'll find anything useful down here," Keane mumbled. What did they even have down here anyway, besides some cans of beans and corn?

Suddenly, there was a small clang. "Here we go!" Stepping out of the shadows, Wander held up a bucket of purple paint. "And there's about a dozen more where that came from!"

"Is it any good?" Keane lifted the lid. Sure enough, the paint was still in a liquid form, though it would still need to be stirred a little before they used it. "Huh, that's surprising."

"Let's try to find more!" Wander said before running back into the shadows. Holding a candle, Adelpha followed him, with Keane and Sylvia right behind her.

"Let's see... veggies, veggies, cans... mouse trap? Oh hey, look at this!" Wander gave a small grunt as he tried to pull something out. Moving past the two Purlet siblings, Sylvia gave Wander a hand, easily pulling the object out. The frame was a bit dusty, and the cushions would have to be washed, but otherwise it was a very nice outdoors swing.

"Oh yeah," Keane started to say, "I remember that. We had it out by the forest for people to relax and look at all the different plants. We took it in during the rainy season, and I guess we just forgot to put it back."

"Well, looks like we've got a use for it now!" Wander said with a smile, "and I saw some other outdoors-y stuff back there too!"

"Wait, so is that the plan? Outdoors furniture and a fresh coat of paint?" Adelpha asked, a sense of doubt filling her.

"No, just part of the plan, Ma'am," Wander corrected, his confidence never leaving him. Just then, Sylvia reappeared. "Hey Wander, found somethin' that may just help us out."

Curious, the three of them followed Sylvia to where she had found something. Once he saw it, Wander couldn't help but grinned. "It's perfect!"

Resting against the wall was a small cart, most likely used when they were moving boxes into the hotel, but with a tiny bit of work the cart could easily sit about six people. What was even better, the cart looked like it could be pulled by an animal or a Purlet man (thanks to their broad shoulders and above average strength) with little to no difficulty.

After setting the cart, the paint and the furniture to the side along with some other storage items they found, Wander decided it was finally time to head back up. After a quick reminder from Sylvia, Wander decided now would be a good time to actually tell the two siblings about the plan.

"Alright," Wander started to say, "Your hotel is already fancy and nice and clean, so we don't have to worry about fixin' that. What we do need to do is add stuff that will make people want to stay here besides the fanciness of everything. Soooo, what we need to do is just add little but likable changes for the place."

"Manager," Sylvia said, getting Keane's attention, "How many animals do you guys usually have stayin' outside?"

"Well, not many," Keane admitted, "It was mostly to get the attention of people who were traveling on an animal so they didn't have to worry about whether their animal would be safe while they slept. It's also good for people who like to travel with their pets instead of leaving them at home. We'll usually have several animals staying there, but -"

"But unless there's a whole barn's worth of animals in there, it's pretty much wasted space and labor," Sylvia interrupted, "I mean, it is pretty huge for a stable."

"Which is why we're gonna use part of that space to help people who don't have pets," Wander added. Keane blinked. How were they going to do that?

Moving on, Wander looked at Adelpha. "Now, how do you feel about redesigning rooms?"

Smiling slightly, the maid answered. "To be honest, I think they're nice... but could use a bit more color." Sure, it was nice to take a break from the dark blues and purples from the rest of the hotel, but not when the colors in the rooms are boring.

After a quick discussion, a design style was picked and Wander moved on. "The cart'll need a fresh coat of paint too, plus some of those pillows we found in storage. Oh, and the pool! Almost forgot about that! Can we take out those floating lines that divide up the pool?" Keane nodded, getting an idea what Wander was planning. "Great! We'll need that swing and those tables and chairs too."

After about five more minutes, all four members of the group knew exactly what their jobs were and how they were going to get the hotel back in business.

"Alright, Manager," Sylvia said, "You're with me. We've got a lot of work to do so I hope you're ready."

Keane smiled. "More than ready," he replied, taking off his jacket since he didn't want to risk getting paint on it. As for Wander and Adelpha, they were already heading towards the dining room, their first room to redesign.

As soon as they entered the huge room, they noticed just how dark it was kept, even with the curtains slightly opened. It was meant to give off a sense of sophistication and elegance, but instead it just felt... dark.

However, that didn't mean it need to be completely repainted. In fact, the black colors of the walls was actually something of an advantage for them - especially for what Wander was planning.

The room only took an hour or so, but now it was time for the hard part. "So, how exactly do you want to tackle over a thousand rooms in only a few hours?" Adelpha asked.

"... You wouldn't happen to have one of those little cleaning carts, would you?"

()()()()()()()()

"How ya doin' over there, Boss Man?"

"Nearly finished, Ms. Sylvia," Keane replied, wiping the sweat off his head. He would have to change and re-comb his hair later. Right now though he was completely focused on the cart, which looked completely different from when they first found it. Keane had decided to repaint the fading brown cart a bright blue with small pictures of the purple flowers his planet was famous for. On the inside (which had already dried) were several comfortable pillows for sitting on and plenty of room for guests.

"Not too bad," Sylvia commented, giving him a small smile.

"Thanks. How did the animals feel about sharing some of their space?"

"They were fine. Most of them sleep most of the day, and I think your workers in there were relieved to actually see something exciting happening."

Keane chuckled. He was sure the stables were an exciting place when there were plenty of camels and horses and two headed elephants to look after. But when there were only a couple animals that could clearly take care of themselves and a few lazy house pets, he could imagine it would get extremely boring just watching animals.

"So, it's all set up then?"

"Well, it'll need a few small things here and there, but those can easily wait until you guys get some bills paid off," the zbornak replied. 'Hopefully that won't take long,' Keane thought to himself, still having a bit of doubt. But even so, he hadn't felt this excited about work since - well, since the first time they saw the hotel. "Come on, let's go set up that furniture." Keane nodded, following Sylvia to the small pile of furniture while he let the rest of the cart dry.

Back inside the hotel, Wander was working as fast as he could. Using the cleaning cart to not only keep all his supplies, but also move quickly down the halls.

The nomad had managed to come up with a quick way to do all the rooms in one hall in only about ten minutes. First unlock every door, then paint, then smaller details like more or less pillows, new blankets, opening up the curtains and various other things that made the rooms feel less empty and more homey. After leaving behind a couple small things in each room for a guest to find, Wander pushed the cart down one flight of stairs (making sure not to drop anything) and happily moved onto the next floor. For any room that already had a guest staying in it, he simply slid a small piece of paper underneath their door and moved on.

Not only was the process fast and easy, but Wander couldn't help but have fun as he was doing it. 'I can't wait to see everyone's faces when they see the rooms!' he grinned as he started running down the dark colored hall with a master key card in his hand.

Downstairs, Adelpha - using the front desk computer - was making fliers. She made sure to not only include new and old information about the hotel as well as details for the event at the hotel that night, but she also included a small sketch of the hotel that she had drawn herself. 'Thank gorn the printer's in Keane's office instead of Father's,' she though to herself as he clicked 'PRINT', satisfied with the design.

Thinking of her father, there was a flash of panic. 'Father...' They were doing all this work to keep his hotel - his _dream_ - alive, but would he really be happy with all the changes, or would he hate them? 'It's a bit late to be regretting it now,' she told herself, shaking these thoughts away. If they could keep the hotel open and gain a strong group of customers that hopefully wouldn't decrease in a few months, she knew he would be happy, and that was all that mattered.

After collecting the fliers and placing them in a tote bag, Adelpha returned to the front desk to see her brother as well as Sylvia and Wander (who had small splatters of paint on his hat and fur, but looked happy just the same).

"Is everything done?" she asked.

"Mostly, the rest is just preparing for tonight," Keane answered.

"Which is why _we_ -" he pointed at himself and Sylvia, "are going to deliver those fliers to the town a couple miles away while you two gather everyone up and start getting things ready for tonight."

"Right," the siblings said in unison. Adelpha handed Wander the bag, who quickly hung it around his neck, and Sylvia quickly trotted out of the hotel. She could easily make it to the next town in a short amount of time, the hardest job would be finding the right people to give the fliers to and hoping they didn't just throw them away.

"Well, you heard them," Keane said with a small smile. Adelpha watched him walk towards the kitchen, no doubt wanting to give the chefs the meal plan for that night.

This was all really happening, and there was no trying to stop it. They were either going to succeed or fail trying, and while she wanted to succeed, she had to feel proud of herself for at least trying to get their hotel up and running again. All the changes, the new attitude and spirit coming from her brother and herself, frankly it made it hard to believe that there was even a chance of failure.

Determination and hope filling her, Adelpha simply smiled and then went off to go search for her fellow maids.

**Wow! Longest chapter yet! Also, it looks like we're reaching the climax! Sorry I couldn't give much detail in this chapter, but I promise all your questions and all details will be revealed next chapter. Anyway, thanks for reading, please review and I'll see you in the next chapter! **


	6. Chapter 6

_**'Grand Purlet Hotel's' Grand Re-opening!**_

_**Join us for snacks, tours of the new additions to the hotel, and a celebration dinner. Reserving a room is not necessary to attend. **_

_**Time: 6:30 in the Grand Purlet Hotel lobby.**_

_**We hope to see you there!**_

Wander gave these fliers to every person he saw, whether they were obviously tourists or not. As for Sylvia, she went to work hanging the fliers along the walls of buildings and on the sides of street lights, making sure to hand out a few to anyone who looked like they would be interested.

"How are you doin, Sylv?" Wander asked, his now empty tote bag bouncing against his side.

"Pretty good, used up most of my fliers," Sylvia answered, "And I see you handed out all of yours."

"Yessum," Wander said proudly, "I hope we have enough room for everyone."

"Well, worse comes to worse, we could always have people sit outside and eat. But remember Wander, not everyone we give a flier to his guaranteed to come."

"I know, I-" Wander cut himself off when he noticed a nicely dressed Purlet woman holding a microphone with a cameraman behind her. "Sylvia! May I borrow one of your fliers?"

Sylvia took one of her remaining fliers and gave it to Wander. "Why?" she started to ask, but the nomad was already racing towards the woman.

"Alright Johnny, we'll just have a quick lunch at that nice deli across town and then I guess we'll go back to the station and edit the footage we shot this morning," the woman said, checking her watch.

"Sounds good to me," the cameraman replied in a gruff voice. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Excuse me, friends." The two looked down at the strange, smiling orange man.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Look kid, we're professionals. If you're trying to get on the news, do something worth reporting."

"Oh I'm not trying to get on the news, Ma'am," Wander replied, "but I would like to invite you two to come to this!" He handed the flier to the news reporter. "It should be a fun time, I guarantee! Alright, see you two later!" With that, Wander left, leaving the small news crew a bit stunned.

The cameraman glanced at the flier. "'Grand re-opening'? Well, it is a slow news day, what else would we have to do?"

The woman, not really wanting to resort to 'soft news' but at the same time wasn't looking forward to sitting in her office until quitting time practically bored to tears, let out a small huff. "We'll see." She stuffed the flier in her jacket pocket and started walking again. "Come on, let's get going."

"Okay, I know you're an optimist but I think even you would know they wouldn't let you on the news, Wander," Sylvia said as soon as her friend returned.

"Like I said, wasn't planning on being on the news," Wander replied, "Just thought they would like to know about the hotel. Come on, let's pass out the rest of these and then get back to the hotel and see how it's lookin'."

"Fine." It only took about five minutes to finish off the fliers, and by the time the two returned to the hotel, it was just a couple minutes after six.

Not taking the time to ask how they were doing, Wander immediately asked the first employee he saw how they could help set up. Within minutes, Wander and Sylvia were back to working, although it was just small things like polishing the silverware or placing hors d'oeuvres on plates.

"You've already helped enough, you know," Adelpha told Wander as they passed each other, "You and Sylvia both."

"Well no offense, but I don't think there's such a thing as helping out too much," Wander simply replied. He grinned, and then suddenly started shaking. "Oh I'm so excited! There's going to be so many people here and everything looks great! I just know you guys are going to do great tonight!"

The maid giggled. "Thanks, I'm pretty excited too. I can't remember the last time we planned a big event like this."

"Has your dad seen all this yet?"

Adelpha's smile faltered a bit. "Um, no. He left to go take care of a few things before we started setting up the lobby, so no he doesn't know. Hopefully, he doesn't mind either."

Wander started to reply, but Sylvia called for him. The nomad quickly excused himself and ran off. Noticing the clock in the lobby, she could see that it read 6:20. Guests would be arriving any moment, but she still had one thing left to do.

Reaching up, she yanked the thin, black ribbon out of her hair, letting the dark blue locks fall and frame her face. It had been her father's rule that all the maids wear their hair up for a sense of uniformity. Tonight was all about a new start, a new identity for the hotel, so she figured the 'hair rule' wasn't in effect that night. Looking down at the silver desk, she smiled at her reflection. Even the cowlick in her bangs - which usually annoyed her to no end - looked just right tonight.

"Alright everyone," she could hear her brother say, "Get in positions, remember to be friendly and courteous!" She could hear the excitement in his voice as he tried to remain professional.

After a couple more minutes, the first guests started to arrive - and they were none other than the ones who were already staying at the hotel! During his room makeovers, Wander made sure to slip notes under all the occupied doors, telling them - if they could - to wait until that night to check out so they could enjoy the fun of the grand re-opening too.

Even so, Keane and his staff treated them just like they were planning on treating however many potential guests showed up that night. They were offered tours of the new rooms and sections of the hotel, snacks, and even a chance to ride in the new Grand Purlet Hotel garden tour wagon.

Since anyone could pull it and most tourists came to Purlet for it's infamous, beautiful flora, Wander knew that people would love to have access to them while staying at the hotel, and the Garden Tour Wagon was the perfect answer to this. They planned to have the tours hourly, with the puller taking them to all the best picture spots nearby and even taking a ten minute stop to let guests explore for themselves. The tour didn't cost anything extra, and people were sure to love it.

Alongside the tour wagon was the hotel taxi. As luck would have it, Keane had a not-exactly-new-but-still-nice black car that could easily take guests to and from the town a couple miles away. He had also allowed Wander to paint the word's 'Hotel Taxi' on the sides and back of the car. Also being a free service for guests, the ones who were businessmen or wanted to explore the non-garden parts of Purlet, they would definitely appreciate the taxi.

Any sense of nervousness was quickly fading away as Keane saw how much the guests were enjoying these new accommodations. This positive experience would help Keane when he started interacting with the new people, who were just starting to arrive.

From his first day at the job, Keane's position as manager was pretty much just make sure everyone was doing their job and then stand behind the front desk when it was time to do his. Now, he was standing right by the lobby front doors, welcoming anyone who came in.

"Glad you could make it," Keane would say, taking a page from Wander's book and trying to be as friendly as he could while still being professional, "Our open rooms are just down the hall and there are snacks by the front desk. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them." He shook hands, he smiled, he interacted with the guests. To him, that was almost the most fun about all this.

"Excuse me, mini sandwiches coming through!" Wander said, weaving through the crowd while balancing plates in his hands. Noticing a new group of people standing next to Keane, he smiled at them. "Hello folks, glad to see you!" He held out the plates of mini sandwiches along with crackers with cheese and potato wedges. "Snacks?"

Over by the first floor hallway, Sylvia - as well as another maid and one of Adelpha's closest friends named Francesca - was leading a small group. "Alright, stay together everyone, we're gonna check out the new rooms now before heading outside."

There were several rooms with the doors open, and each one was different than the last. Some rooms had received a new coat of paint courtesy of Wander, but only one or two walls of it. In a sense, this made the rooms look unique. The beds had new, softer blankets with 'slept in' (really Wander just bounced on them a few times to make them softer) mattresses. Some of the chairs and couches in a room had throw blankets and pillows, giving it more of a home feel, and all the curtains were open to let light shine in and to show off the great view.

"We have also included room service," Francesca started to say, "Just let us know when you check in, and we'll gladly wake you up at a certain time and even bring you a hot cup of coffee." Several businessmen in the crowd nodded, pleased with that new addition.

Going outside, the tour continued with the new pool - now with several tables and chairs, becoming more of a social area, and a homemade diving board - and the new stables, now simply called 'Day Care'.

Sylvia had done an excellent job dividing the space in the secondary building. With a hotel as fancy and quiet as theirs, there wasn't really a place for children, which was probably why not a lot of families stayed there. But now there was a place for not only pets to stay, but for kids to have fun. In the late mornings and afternoons, guests could drop off their kids at the day care and the employees would watch them. There would be toys and games, and the employees would also make sure to keep the animals away from the children so neither would risk getting injured. Then again, the animals had plenty of space too, and were more than happy to share.

The zbornak could see everyone's faces in the group, not an unimpressed frown or scowl among them. 'They're really liking it,' she thought with a smile. Maybe because when Wander thought of the new additions to the hotel, he wasn't just thinking what would help the hotel make money, but what would make the guests happy too.

'Way to go, buddy,' she thought as she led the group back towards the hotel.

Back in the lobby, the room was filling up fast. But everyone was talking and seemed happy, so Keane felt like things were going well. Hearing the front door open once again, he turned around. "Hello, welcome to-"

"Wow, I can't believe I've never been in here before, this place is gorgeous!"

Keane couldn't believe his eyes. Standing right in front of him was one of the most well known news reporters on his planet, Violet Penpap, and she had brought a cameraman!

As for Violet herself, what she thought was just some hotel was in fact that fanciest one she had ever seen! Her eyes went from the shiny chandelier to the room full of people. "So people are interested, guess I owe Johnny a soda," she mumbled to herself before turning to her cameraman, "Alright, clear a small space by the front door, and then make sure you get a good shot of the lobby before I start talking, we can edit that in some- oh." She turned to Keane, moving a stray strand of her straight black hair out of the way. "You don't mind if we do a story on your grand re-opening, do you?"

"N-Not at all, Ms. Penpap," Keane replied, "Go right ahead!" The woman gave him a small smile and then turned back to her cameraman.

"Oh hey, I know those two!" Wander said, suddenly appearing beside Keane, "I knew those two would be interested in this place. Good thing I caught them and gave them a flier."

"You convinced them to-?" Keane couldn't believe it, but he knew if he tried to figure out how Wander did it, he still wouldn't know how. Maybe Wander was just a people person, or maybe he did it on accident. Whatever the reason, Keane decided to say the one thing he actually had to.

"Thank you, Wander."

"Why, your sister's the one who made the fliers, you should go thank her. I think I saw her over by the front desk, or was it the dining room?" Keane just laughed.

()()()()()()()

"Refill, Sir?"

"Nah, I'm good."

Gorman continued to stab his remaining food with his fork. The hotel owner couldn't really afford to be eating out, he had only went out to pay some bills and get the paperwork to extend some loans. When his mind moved onto what he wanted for supper, he decided that eating at some diner was better than eating in his dark office or the mostly empty dining room. Besides, he had only paid for a glass of water and a thin sandwich, that wouldn't break him (at least not this month).

Hanging from a corner of the room, the commercials playing on an old tv ended and the news program to began. They started with weather, followed by the biggest news in the universe and finally, local news.

_"Hello everyone. Tonight I'm here at the Grand Purlet Hotel for it's grand re-opening."_ Gorman's head shot up. Grand Purlet Hotel? As in, _his_ Grand Purlet Hotel?! And what did she mean by grand re-opening?

Eyes glued to the screen, Gorman could see that his lobby was filled with people, Purlet and tourists alike.

"_The hotel opened two years ago, but it seems that there's some new additions they want to give attention to. For example, nearly all the rooms have gotten redone and there are several new services offered that are free to hotel guests. There is also the new dining room which will be revealed at seven o'clock._" Gorman looked up at the clock hanging above him. It read 7:20, so it must have been recorder earlier. _"Now, has the GPH caught the attention and - more importantly - business of the people in the universe? Let's find out."_

Violet then went on to interview several people there, asking what they liked best about the hotel and she even interviewed his son and daughter. As soon as she ended her report, Gorman quickly paid, thanked the waiter and went out the door without saying another word.

**One more chapter to go! We'll finally get to see what Wander and Adelpha did to the dining room as well as Gorman's opinion on everything, plus we'll see if Wander did manage to help or if it was just too good to be true. I hope you guys are still enjoying the story, it's been pretty fun writing it. **

**I'm actually thinking of starting another multi-chapter Wander over Yonder story, but that's only in it's beginning stage so it's not a certainty. But I'm sure I'll be writing at least a couple oneshots for this show before it's through. Anyway, thanks for all your support, please keep reviewing and I'll see you guys in the final chapter. Have a nice day! **


	7. Chapter 7

"Everyone, may I have your attention?" Nearly everyone was in the lobby, the reporter had just finished recording, and the clock had just struck seven. After a few moments, the crowd quieted down and focused on Keane.

"I believe it is time for dinner to be served," he said with a smile, "So, if everyone would just head down the hall and turn to your right, you may sit down anywhere you would like and we were start serving you." It was a good thing they had so much extra food as it is, otherwise they would've had to charge for the meal, and Keane wasn't sure if quite as many people would've came if that were the case.

A buzz of excitement filled the room. They had heard the dining room had been changed, they just didn't know. Once the crowd entered the wide room, those who had seen it before definitely agreed that it was an improvement.

While the lobby had kept it's beautiful interior and the rooms adapted a more home-y feel to them, the dining room had taken on more of a fun and casual attitude. The curtains were open, showing off the pool, gardens and day care/stable outside. The black and white tablecloths were gone, now they were all a beautiful shade of purple. At the far side of the room, since the waffle bar wasn't going to be running at night, Wander decided it would be a great place to get desserts and drinks. So, in the 'toppings' containers, there was now ice cream and next to it was a drink machine (which Wander bought for the hotel with his own money) for any and all adult customers to enjoy.

The candles were gone, and instead of yellow lights that casted shadows on the black walls and made the room actually feel darker than brighter, the lightbulbs were now multicolored. Different spots of color lined the walls because of them, lighting up the room and giving it more color at the same time. Finally, in the back of the room was a piano (since Wander thought live music was more fun to listen to that music on a cd), a small space for people to dance, and a beautiful mural stretching across the wall.

Wander never would've guessed Adelpha was such a great artist, but with her drawing skills, Wander's knowledge of the universe and some paint and chalk collected from the hotel storage, they were able to create a beautiful scene. The planet Purlet of course took up most of the space and looked the best. Surrounding it were its moon, some nearby planets and a beautiful collection of stars. It was truly something to be proud of.

While the food was being served up, Wander simply stood in the back of the room, pleased with what he had done. His mind flashed back to the last time he had eaten in the hotel's dining room. What had only been a few people before was now a full house.

Instead of keeping to their own table, people were talking to other tables close by. He could see the Bingleborps talking to what looked like a Purlet gardener, most likely discussing their planets' gardens. The Gemhead children in the empty space playing with other children while their parents (Wander noted how much happier their mother looked than before) watched. There were people were sitting by the bar, sharing drinks and desserts in between conversations, and it looked like even Miss Penpap and her cameraman were enjoying themselves. Wander knew that the waiters had set out comment cards at the tables to see how much everyone liked the changes, and Wander had no doubts that they would say nothing but great things.

Suddenly, a set of scales on the piano suddenly caught Wander's attention. It looked like the hotel's head chef (who was also a great piano player as Wander would soon find out) had finished his cooking duties for the night and was now deciding to add a little music to the room. Mouth opened in a wide smile, Wander quickly reached into his hat, pulled out his faithful banjo, and quickly ran over to the chef/pianist.

Not too many people had heard a banjo and piano duet before, and even fewer would think that one would work, but surprisingly Wander and the chef sounded great together. Before the night was through, more than a few people had gotten up and danced.

By the time everyone had left, it was nearly ten at night. Everyone was exhausted, but happy. All the employees plus Wander and Sylvia were now sitting around a couple tables and sharing some leftover desserts. There wasn't much talking, but it was a comfortable sort of silence.

"Well then," Adelpha said, setting down her empty bowl, "Shall we read the comment cards?"

"I suppose so," Keane replied, standing up, "I told everyone to place them in the box on the front desk, so I'll just go-"

"I don't think there's any need for that." Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on the short Purlet who had just walked through the door.

"D-Dad? Uh, when did you get here?"

"Around suppertime," Gorman answered, "With everyone in here it was easy to just walk inside. While everyone was leaving, I took it upon myself to read their cards, although I only got through about a dozen before I stopped. They all pretty much said the same things, and I think you two are smart enough to know that nearly everyone was pleased."

He thought for a moment. "The only thing I don't know is how in the world did you two do all this in one day without me even noticing?"

"Well, we had a lot of help," Keane answered, "and I guess when you think about it there wasn't really much to change, just small little additions."

"Hmm," was all Gorman had to say.

"So, do you like it?" Adelpha asked him, voicing what was on everyone's mind.

Gorman had to think about that for a moment. He was no means angry with his children and employees. At the same time, it was his hotel. It was how he envisioned it ever since he first thought of the idea, and while he knew that his ideas along with having no change was their problem in the first place, he still couldn't help but feel a bit agitated.

However, there was another feeling that far out did the other, and that was pride. It wasn't just his hotel anymore, it was his family's. The fact that his son and daughter took it upon themselves to try and get the hotel some business again showed Gorman that they didn't just think of it as a job they were forced to have like so many others would. Besides, Keane was right when he had said the 'changes' had just been little things - though they made a big impact. But it was still the Grand Purlet Hotel, and he couldn't argue with that.

"Well, it will take some getting used to, I'll admit," Gorman said finally, "but I think it'll be just fine." He smiled slightly, and his employees smiled back at him. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing a slight spike in business starting now."

"I know I'll be coming back for a visit!" Wander said happily. Surprisingly, Gorman hadn't really noticed the Star Nomad and the Zbornak sitting with his workers until that moment.

"And you are?" the owner asked.

"A friend," Wander said simply.

"More than that," Adelpha added, "He helped come up with nearly all of the ideas for things to add to the hotel."

'Him?' Gorman couldn't help but think. The nomad looked friendly and cheerful, but he didn't exactly look like an entrepreneur or professional designer. 'But, who am I to look a gift zbornak in the mouth?'

"Well, thank you," Gorman said, nodding at Wander, "And while we technically didn't hire you, I say you definitely deserve some sort of payme-"

"No way," Wander said, interrupting him, "You put that check book away!" A smile returned to his face. "I just wanted to help you guys, I didn't expect to get anything out of it, and I ain't expecting - or accepting - anything now."

"But Wander, we want to thank you," Adelpha told him.

"It doesn't have to be money," Keane chimed in, "You said you were a traveler, we could give you some supplies. Isn't there anything you want, we really do want to thank you with something."

Wander was about to deny again when he stopped. He rubbed the back of his arm, almost as if he didn't want to ask. "Well, you don't have to of course, but if you don't mind there is one thing that I've had my eye on that I wouldn't mind borrowing until the next time I visit..."

()()()()()()()

"Come on Sylvia, this one has your name on it! You can't start a new trip without a hardy meal!"

"Wander, please, I'm still stuffed after the first batch." She held up their map, "Now please finish up soon. We have to leave now if we want to make it to Quaiknarg by tonight!"

"Alright, just give me a couple seconds." Wanting to sleep under the stars, Wander and Sylvia had checked out of the hotel the previous night, but not before taking a few more pictures and packing up the gift Keane and Adelpha had given them.

The battery powered waffle maker dinged, and Wander quickly placed the hot waffle on a plate. Along with the iron, he had been given a bag of Just-Add-Water waffle mix, but everyone knew that if Wander was using it, it would probably only last a week at most. But that didn't matter, Wander would enjoy every breakfast until then.

Quickly smothering it with whipped cream and strawberries, Wander folded the waffle up like a taco, drizzled a little syrup over at, and ate it whole. With breakfast officially finished, Wander gathered everything up and hopped onto Sylvia's back in record time.

"Alright, Let's hit the road!"

"Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Blowing a huge bubble around them, the two best friends floated up into the atmosphere, leaving behind a great hotel and leaving with great new memories (and a full stomach).

**The End.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter, sorry it was kinda short. Anyway, please review, have a nice night and hopefully I'll think of another WoY fic soon. Thanks again for all your support *hugs all my readers***


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